Monday, March 27, 2006

Laborious is putting it nicely

Plantains:Mme Maxo is an amazing cook ... she is more amazing because she cooks here, in Haiti with less than favorable cooking conditions.

You all know how I feel about any variety of cooking. That is what makes Haitian cooking all the more amazing.

Everything has so many steps. Every step is very labor intensive.

Britt went over to Rhonda's today to take part in a plantain cooking lesson. She came home with her plantains and made them on her own. Mme Maxo checked in on her right as she finished and was pleased with her work.

Plantains are everywhere where we live. American's would think they were bananas because that is exactly how they look, but they don't taste anything like bananas and they require a lot more than just peel and eat. They are starchy (even though they are technically a fruit) and taste similar to a potato. They cannot be eaten raw.

Britt was proud of her finished product and we added them to our dinner. She and Mme Maxo had a big time shaking their heads at "Mme Troy" (me) over the fact that I am not interested in cooking. I wish Britt would get on the blog and list out all the stinkin steps to make these plantains, but she is not cooperating with my request tonight. The picture below is the part where you smash them flat between two pieces of wood. There is no convenience easy, fast cooking here. With peeling, frying, smashing, dipping in salty vinegar and frying again these six plantains took 40+ minutes to make.

Britt with her finished plantains.

You can eat them plain or with Kethcup. Noah love, love, loves them and screams "dan tain, dan tain" until he gets his plate filled, then he starts hollering for the bep-up.

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Who we are...

To Reach Us: Livesayfamily@gmail.com - We live, learn, love, & work and sometimes go slowly crazy in Port au Prince, Haiti. In the 13+ years we've been here, one thing we've learned: God is not made manifest in our ability to "fix" or heal, but in our need to be healed. Recognizing this weakness leaves us in a position of having little to offer. It reveals our own need to be restored to wholeness. We are not fixers of people or countries or things. We are here trying to extend empathy, love and grace to others, the way it has been extended to us.

May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships - so that we may live deep within our hearts. May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people - so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war - so that we may reach out our hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in the world - so that we can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor. Amen. (Franciscan Benediction)

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